President Chen Shui-bian (
Chen made the vow in a speech delivered at the opening of a workshop for senior government officials and severely reproached "some administrative officials who spoil the mutual trust [within the government]." He said they should be punished, and he strongly criticized those officials who he said were not playing a "team game."
Chen said he had wanted to hold the workshop at the very beginning of his presidency, but "former premier Tang Fei (
He said that some people were critical that he was behaving inappropriately by asking that his officials read his speeches.
"But am I really wrong? How much detailed attention does the broadcast and print media give to my speeches and my thinking? If the media is not interested, shouldn't the officials at least know them?" he asked.
Chin Hui-chu (秦慧珠), a People First Party lawmaker had complained that officials are now "made to recite Chen's speeches and write study reports on them." She said the government wanted every participant in this workshop to study a compilation of Chen's speeches and remarks and to hand in a "study report" by June 26.
Lee Jo-i (李若一), deputy director of the Central Personnel Administration said on Friday that it would be strange if officials weren't clear about what their leader thought.
Chen said at the opening of the workshop yesterday that it was important for officials to keep studying.
Chen said that he studied how to run for the presidency after he lost the election for the Taipei City mayoralty at the end of 1998. Now, he said, he is still studying how to be a president.
"Since I had to study hard to be a president, shouldn't the officials need to study?" Chen asked. "It is not only students who need to study these days. Everybody has to study or they will fall behind."
Government spokesman Su Tzen-ping (
Chen admitted that he knew that the people did not have much confidence in his government and that Taiwan's economy was now suffering from a "developing syndrome."
"It is our priority to build up a new political and economic order for Taiwan," he said.
Outlining five goals for government rejuvenation, Chen said the government must slim down, reorganize, upgrade its ability to solve problems and wipe out official corruption, as well as forge partnerships and alliances between central and local government agencies.
For the moment, he said, the Executive Yuan should give top priority to its own organizational restructuring, by a process of consolidating ministries and departments, implementing new control structures, and overhauling policy-planning procedure.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
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Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique